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2026 National Urban Rat Summit

The City of Boston will host the second annual 2026 National Urban Rat Summit on September 23–24, 2026.

This summit will convene cities, academic researchers, and public health professionals from across the country and around the world to advance practical, data-driven strategies to reduce urban rat populations.

Summit Overview

Event Information

Reach out to rats@boston.gov with any questions!

2026 Focus Areas

Building on the momentum of the 2024 National Urban Rat Summit, the 2026 Summit will highlight practical solutions cities can put into action right away. From containerization and waste-system reform to technology-enabled monitoring, the focus is on strategies that reduce rodent populations and improve daily life for residents.

Themes for this summit:

  • Governance and Cross-Agency Collaboration
  • Pathogens, Public Health and Food Safety
  • Waste, Trash, and Containerization Improvements
  • Updates on National Municipal Rodent Working Group
  • Green Space Management, High-risk and Complex Sites in Cities
  • Rules and Regulations of the Industry and Rodenticides
  • Importance of Data in informing Rodent Mitigation : In-Field Technologies, Innovation Solutions, and Program Design
  • Community engagement and awareness campaigns 
  • Tools for Municipalities with limited resources

Summit Run of Show

Day 1 Agenda: 

  • Dr. Corrigan - The State of Urban Rodent Management
  • City of Boston - Overview of the Boston Rodent Action Plan
  • Dr. Romain Lasseur - The European Perspective on Urban Rat Management
  • Dave de Jonge and Jan Buijs - Amsterdam’s Experience (Virtual)
  • Dr. Jonathan Richardson - Overview of Rats and Public Health
  • Dr. Claudia Riegal and Dr. William L. Nicholson - The Growing Threat of Murine Typhus in the United States
  • Marc Paladini - Collaborative Responses to an Increase in Human Leptospirosis in NYC
  • Dr. Adena Why - Homeless Encampment and Leptospirosis (Virtual)
  • Dr. Katie Himmlestein, Boston Public Health Commission 
  • Marykate Kenney - Sweat the Small Stuff Sometimes: Rat Prevention and Collaboration in Food Safety Establishments
  • Taylor Rubin -  New York City trash through a One Health Lens: Rats, waste management, and disease
  • Moderated City Panel Discussion on Trash Improvements - Boston, Toronto, Cambridge and NYC 
  • Matt Frye, Bobby Corrigan, and Claudia Riegal - Updates on National Municipal Rodent Working Group & International Urban Rodentological Society

Day 2 Agenda: 

  • Dr. Richard Pollack - Rat-scaping: Designing rats out of the landscape
  • Leslie Frattaroli and Lizzie Rush - Norway Rat Management at the National Mall and Memorial Parks, a Combined Approach
  • Dr. Changlu Wang - Health Risks and Innovative Management of Norway Rats in the Urban Environment
  • Dr. Maureen H. Murray - “The bane of our existence”: Challenges and opportunities for rat management in urban community gardens
  • Dr. Bobby Corrigan - Holistic approach to Rat Management  in Boston’s Haymarket
  • Maureen Murray, DVM - Rodenticides in Wildlife: Current Research
  • John Ulrich - Massachusetts Rules and Regulations
  • Ally Littlefield -  Whack-a-rat: Rat app for rapid reporting & prompt intervention
  • Dr. Ralph Peterson - Acoustic and Behavioral Sensing for Data-Driven Urban Rat Management
  • Jeffrey Weisberg and Julie Skovgaard Bahrt - From 311 Calls to Confirmed Kills: Six Months of Non-Toxic Subsurface Trapping, Infrastructure Diagnostics, and IPM Integration in a Boston BRAP Pilot
  • Caroline Bragdon and Mindy Chang: Rodent Fertility Control New York City Health Department’s rat contraceptive pilot program in West Harlem
  • Kim Camera - Rethinking Rodenticide Use Through a Wildlife Management Lens: A Science-Based Framework Integrating K9 Detection, K9 Abatement, and RASCO Air Sampling in Urban Ecosystems
  • Dr. Niamh M Quinn - From the Laboratory to the Alleyway: Translating Research into Better Rodent Management
  • Dr. Kaylee Byers and Dr. Chelsea Himsworth - Rats, Realities and Results: Building an Implementation Blueprint
  • Max Broad & Holly Gerberich - DC’s Community Engagement Program Development
  • Caroline Bragdon and Martha Vernazza - Neighborhood Rat Reduction Partnership Model:  Engaging with Communities and Partner Agencies
  • Ricky Meinke and Grace F. Evans - A Rat City Arts Festival, Rat Rangers, and Beautified Rat Traps? How We Used Artists To Promote Rat Mitigation in Boston
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